


Life, if only four centimetres small

by Antares10



Series: Tiny little Crossover Shorts [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Pikmin (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-26
Updated: 2014-06-26
Packaged: 2018-02-06 07:16:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1849207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antares10/pseuds/Antares10
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry HAD a friend when he was a child, before he came to Hogwarts. It was a great friend, even if his body was really tiny.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life, if only four centimetres small

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to Pandir, who was my beta and the best ever. ^^

Harry would never say it out loud but he kind of liked to work in the garden. Well, it wasn't really the working part he enjoyed, no child liked to work. But he liked the garden. There were just so many things to see!

 

The grass alone was fascinating. It wasn't just blades of grass, it was a green forest made out of all kinds of plant life AND insects. The Dursleys hated that their lawn was never the “perfect” kind (that meant only one sort of grass, all in one height - in short: boring) and they despised the little insects and animals that lived in it.

 

The only time Dudley ever had interest in the lawn and its inhabitants was when he was searching for worms so he could make Harry eat some. Harry had no idea how, but it was as if the worms knew he was coming. Because no matter what Dudley did, he couldn't find a single one.

 

All Uncle Venom and Aunt Petunia wanted was that the garden looked nice and proper and normal, so they usually just gave Harry a task to do and left him alone with that. Dudley seemed allergic to work so he never botheered Harry in the garden.

Garden-time meant a bit of free time for Harry, and he enjoyed the heck out of it!

 

Whenever he could he would just lie on the soft grass and observe the little things that lived literally under his feet. Whenever he did that he felt a bit more hopeful. These little guys got by every day and they seemed to live okay.

 

And then, one morning, when Harry was the only one at home (with Venom at work, Petunia shopping and Dudley visiting some friend of his) and was just taking a break from pulling up weeds that grew between the pavement tiles, he heard a loud BLAM.

 

Surprised he looked around him but couldn't find the source of the noise. Until he saw a... metallic thing, maybe a can, falling from the sky, landing in some bushes. He ran to the spot where it had landed and searched the bushes, but couldn't find anything. Had he just imagined this thing? The Dursley said often that he had too much imagination (well, ANY imagination was too much for the Dursleys… Harry had never understood why).

 

After a few minutes he gave up. With a sigh, he turned around and walked back to his work. It was going to be a long day...

 

 

He had nearly forgotten about this strange occurrence when Aunt Petunia ordered him out a few days later to give the bushes a trim. As he looked for branches that needed cutting he heard a quiet noise, like a whistle, but very very faint, and as he looked to the ground he could see... little small plants _walking_?

 

Fascinated he knelt down on the ground to inspect his new discovery. They were... beautiful. A little flock of small things, red, yellow and blue. They were just three centimetres high, had little arms and legs, big round eyes and on their head, they had a tiny leaf, a bud or a little flower. And when they looked up at him, Harry thought they were rather cute.

 

He was so fascinated by them that he nearly overlooked another life form that was with them. But as Harry looked closer, he saw that the little Plant-people seemed to... protect this guy?

He (was it a he? It felt wrong to say “it”) was just a little taller than the others. He was no plant but, and Harry could barely believe his eyes, he looked like a little man in a spacesuit. Harry could only see his head with a rather big nose and the antenna on his helmet that glowed bright red at the end.

Then he noticed that the little guy was trembling slightly and Harry realized that he had to be afraid of him... Well, if Harry met a giant he would be afraid, too.

 

So he lay down to make himself as small as he could and spoke softly.

 

“Uh... hey? Don't be afraid, I'm not gonna hurt you. Uh... I'm Harry.”

 

He didn't know how he should behave... maybe this little guy was an alien? He looked like one. And the aliens in Dudley’s games and movies never looked cute and always wanted to kill something. But these aliens here looked rather... harmless.

 

It surprised him when the spaceman looked at him and suddenly began to speak. It was faint but just loud enough that Harry could understand him.

 

“Greetings, Big-Lifeform. I'm Captain Olimar.”

 

Harry had to giggle a bit. Big-Lifeform. Nobody had ever called him that.

 

“Uh... Hi, Captain Olimar... Are you from space? And... what are these?”

 

The little guy, Olimar, seemed a bit amused by that. The little plant people seemed to relax a bit, gathering around Olimar and seemingly enjoying the sunlight.

 

“Yes... I come from space. My ship, the Dolphin, was hit by a meteor and crashed here... I have to find some missing parts. These little things here are called pikmin. They help me and I protect them.”

 

Harry was impressed. That was just so cool! A real little alien!

 

“So... you don't wanna take over the world or eat humans or something like that?”

 

“No, no! Good grief, no! I just want to go home to my family.”

 

Harry smiled a bit sadly at that. Even four centimetres small little spacemen had a family they loved.

 

“Oh... okay. Uh, can I help you? You have to be careful here, when the Dursleys see you, they’ll surely step on you!”

 

That would be really bad. Harry liked Olimar already. And he had a family! He just couldn't... die here.

 

“I'm alright, Harry. But thank you for your warning. Well... if you see parts of my spaceship, please bring them to me, okay?”

 

“Okay. I will, promise!”

 

Harry would have liked to talk much longer with his new little alien friends but he heard Petunia calling for him so he had to go. The little pikmin even waved him goodbye.

 

 

For the next days, Harry was very careful when he looked to the bushes where he had found Captain Olimar and was extra-careful where he set his foot in the garden. He was horribly afraid that Dudley would find out about Captain Olimar and his pikmin and that he would hurt them. They were his friends but so tiny and helpless against someone so big.

 

But whenever he could he would look for them and talk to Olimar, and over time, he learned quite a bit about the Captain. He told Harry about his adventures, his missions and the wonders of space. And of his pikmin.

Harry learned that Olimar found them during a disaster much like this. His ship had been damaged and there’d been only a short time to find all parts or he’d have to face death. He told Harry about finding out what the pikmin could do and would do to save him.

And Harry saw first-hand what amazing things these little guys could do. Alone they were weak and fragile but in a group they were strong. Pikmin could lift great weights together, battle all kinds of hostile life forms and even throw things many times bigger than themselves.

He told him about his friends and family back at home and how he had missed the little pikmin as he returned to his home planet. And how he had planned to go back to the distant planet and bring his beloved plant-like friends back with him.

 

“And that was why you crashed here?” asked Harry. He was sitting in the shadow of the bush, holding Olimar on his flat hand. Some pikmin were transporting a part to the damaged spaceship, a few others were idly sitting and standing around.

 

“Yes. I missed them and they had missed me, too, when you take the greeting I got into consideration. They wouldn't have let me leave alone, even if I had tried to do so.” said Olimar, slightly amused and touched by the loyalty of his friends.

 

“Must be nice...”

 

“Yes, they are like family for me... they have so small and fragile lives... I couldn't let them fend for themselves in such a hostile world. They will come with me to my home. I think they will have a good life there.”

 

Harry smiled at that, but he felt a little sting in his heart. He was aware that his new little friends wouldn't be there forever. They had to go home. It made him sad because he had dreamed about this so often: Somebody would come and tell him he could go with them and they’d fly away on a motorcycle and never go back to the Dursleys... Just like what Olimar had done for his pikmin. He had come for them and taken them away from a world that was so dangerous for them.

 

He wished that somebody would come for him too. But nobody ever came.

 

 

It was easy to set up a routine. Get up, make breakfast, then he’d go into the garden, to find Olimar and talk to him or help him as much as he could, but hurry back before anybody noticed. The only factor he couldn't predict was Dudley.

Well, it was summer and he was hanging out with his friends as much as he could but Harry knew that he would come home at irregular times of the day. And even if he had no interest in the garden, he could always be in the mood to chase Harry around.

 

There were a few close moments. One had been when Dudley asked out loud if it was fun for Harry to work in the garden. It was a dangerous question to be answered at the breakfast table. If he said yes, the Dursleys might take that away from him and give him other tasks. If he said no they could sent him to his cupboard.

 

He settled with saying that he was good at garden work and that there was a lot of work to do. For his nine years he knew already pretty well how to steer a conversation away from dangerous ground.

 

Right decision. He got more work to do in the garden and Dudley got a trip to a water park with all his friends. For the first time Harry was not the slightest bit jealous.

 

 

There was another close call few days later. Harry was pulling weeds from some of Petunia’s flowerpots as he heard the little queek-noise that pikmin could do. Surprised he looked down and saw a few red flower-pikmin waving at him. They didn't have much of a face but Harry knew them good enough to tell that they were in a state of near-panic. What was alarming for him was that there was no sight of Olimar.

 

“Guys? What happened?” whispered Harry, laying his hand palm facing up on the ground, allowing the pikmin to climb on it and brought them close to his face. “Where is Olimar?”

 

They pointed to the bushes, squeaking and looking troubled and panicked.

 

“Okay, I'm coming... Shhh...”

 

He held them carefully in his hand and made his way to the bushes. Then he saw what had upset the pikmin so much.

 

Olimar was lying on some leaves, obviously brought here by the pikmin. But something wasn't right. He lay on his side, shaking slightly and Harry could hear a faint whimper. Something had happened and Olimar seemed to be hurt. His pikmin were standing around him, seemingly helpless. They looked at Harry and made more of these little squeaking noises as if they were begging him to help.

 

Carefully Harry lay down so he could look better at his little friend.

 

“Olimar? What happened? Are you hurt?”

 

All he got as an answer was a quiet but pained noise.

 

“Olimar?” He came closer to examine at the captain. He didn't look good. His usually orange-rose skin was pale and slightly greenish, his eyes pressed shut. He was in pain and something was horrible wrong but Harry couldn't see what.

He looked at the pikmin again, how they were standing and sitting around their leader, some of them touching him with their little hands...

 

And then Harry saw it... they weren't simply touching him... they were trying to hold close a hole in the space suit! Harry knew this was bad. Olimar told him that oxygen in the air was poisonous to him. Something must have happened to him. The hole was on his side, not even as big as a pinhead, but big enough...

 

But he could think about it later, first he had to help close the leak.

 

“I think I have something that could help! Please hold on, I'll be back in a second!”

 

Harry got up as fast as he dared and ran to the house. Not caring that he had to stay out until his work was done, he hurried up the stairs to Uncle Vernon’s office. Grabbing some sticky tape, looking glasses and tissues, he turned on his heel and ran all the way back.

He was always pretty fast, he had to be with Dudley and his “friends” on his heels every day at school, but today he had the feeling that he wasn't fast enough.

 

He came back to his little friends, lay down and thought about the best way to do this. He looked at the pikmin.

 

“Hey, little guys... I think I can help him but I have to pick him up, okay? So... the ones of you that hold the tear closed, please keep doing that, okay?”

 

He waited a bit and then proceeded to lift Olimar gently from his bed of leafs.

 

He was light. Nearly weightless. It always came as a little shock to Harry. Olimar seemed so real and... grown up. He was older than Harry, a father and a spaceman, an explorer and hero, but whenever he picked him up it was as if he held a little bug, nothing more.

 

As quickly as possible he cut a part of the sticky tape. Hoping that it would work, he stuck it over the tear in the suit, nearly covering the entire torso of Olimar with the tape. Folding the tissue a few times he made Olimar a soft bed and gently put him down on it. As soon as he had placed him back on the ground, the pikmin swarmed around him, still looking very worried.

 

After a while they just sat down around him. A good number of them even curled up beside him, obviously willing to stay by his side for the night, as long as it would take. Harry just wasn't so sure what “it” would be.

 

Harry stayed with them as long as he could without being caught. He _had_ to leave for a bit to finish his work and as it went dark he had to go back in the house. But he was worried the whole time.

 

What had happened to Olimar? His spacesuit wouldn't just rip like that. And was he fast enough? How long had Olimar been breathing oxygen and how much had he breathed in? Would he make it?

 

Would he die?

 

It was frightening to think about that. Olimar dying on a strange planet far away from home... he would never see his family again... what would happen to his family? His children? Harry’s parents died many years ago and even though he couldn’t remember them, he missed his parents. What would Olimars children feel like if their father died here? And the pikmin... what would happen to them? Olimar wasn't the only one who knew about them but who would come for them if nobody knew where they were stranded?

 

Harry would take them all in but he was afraid that Dudley would find them and hurt them and take them away just because they were something that Harry liked.

 

Olimar had to live. He just had to.

 

 

Harry nearly bolted out of the house the next morning, and he came running to Olimar’s resting place. He dropped to his knees and looked for his little friends.

 

He felt a heavy weight falling off his chest as he saw Olimar sitting up, still looking a bit weak and faint but alive.

 

“Olimar! Are you okay? What happened?”

 

Olimar looked at him, smiling slightly.

 

“Yes, I'm mostly okay now, Harry. Thanks to you, as my pikmin told me... You have my everlasting gratitude... I didn't have anything with me that could have fixed my spacesuit...” said Olimar, his voice earnest.

 

Harry smiled. “It was no problem, really. I'm just happy that you are okay... the pikmin were really worried...”

 

“Yes, they were, huh?” He petted one of the red flower pikmin next to him. It squealed with delight and huddled closer to him, others following it.

 

“So... what happened to you?”

 

“Oh, it was...”, Olimar hesitated. Harry didn't know why he stopped but he saw Olimar getting a little paler and he held the pikmin around him a bit tighter.

“It was an animal I didn't know... It chased me and my pikmin... I sent them forward to find shelter in their onion. But I think it carried me off. I don't remember much. I think it bit me. I don't even know how I ended up back here on my ship.”

 

Harry never wanted to hug someone or to be hugged so much in his life. It was just so heartbreaking to see this captain, this person with so much spirit, getting nervous and unsure of himself. And Harry still felt sad and afraid and like crying but not quite. He had nearly lost a friend and it scared him more than anything else ever.

But he couldn't. Because Olimar was only four centimetres high and it would crush his little body if Harry would try that. So he just extended one finger from his hand and gently put it on top of Olimar’s helmet. He couldn't do much but he _needed_ to show Olimar some sort of... affection. Some sort of an “all will be well” gesture. Harry didn't know very well how to do so but he was delighted when he saw Olimar smile.

 

“You are a good kid, Harry”, he said and patted his finger slightly.

 

It wasn't often that Harry heard someone say that to him, too.

 

 

Olimar needed three more days until he was well enough to wander out of his little camp again. He had almost recovered now but still a bit pale and weak. But his pikmin still followed him everywhere he went and seemed to be more alert than ever.

 

Harry discovered that they really liked honey. He brought some with him every time he visited them and smiled as he saw how happy these little guys seemed about each sweet golden drop he brought them.

 

Until one day, Olimar looked up to him.

 

“I have all my ship parts now, Harry... it will take some time before everything is fixed but... we will on our way in a few days”, he said gently and Harry felt something pull in his chest.

 

He didn't want his friends to leave. But Olimar had a family waiting for him and this planet was dangerous for him... the incident with the hole in his spacesuit had proven that. They had to leave but it still made Harry feel like crying.

 

“So... you'll leave?”

 

Harry didn't want to sound so upset. Honestly. He wanted Olimar to be happy, to come back to his family and have a happy ending with his pikmin. He really wanted that for him. But he would miss him. So much. And he couldn't help what he was feeling.

 

Olimar must have heard it in his tone. He looked at Harry and smiled as sadly as Harry felt.

 

“Yes, Harry. I have to leave. You understand that, right?”

 

“Yes... yes, it's dangerous here and... your family and friends are waiting for you, aren't they?”

 

“You are correct. But... it also pains me to leave a friend behind.”

 

It was said casually, but also in all honesty and Harry felt hot tears in his eyes. The captain would leave, but he would miss him, too. That gave him the courage to ask the one question he wanted to ask.

 

“Will... you come back sometime? Will I ever see you again?”

 

And the answer was exactly what he had expected and feared it to be.

 

“I don't know, Harry... I really don't know.”

 

 

 

Goodbyes came too soon for Harry. He was there as Olimar helped his last pikmin back to their onion. The strange organic thing then was loaded into the Dolphin, safe for the long trip to Olimar’s home.

 

Harry was sitting on the ground, Olimar standing on his hand, as he held him to his face.

 

“I will miss you.”

 

He meant it. This little Captain was his friend, his best and only in the world. And he would leave and maybe never return.

 

“I know, Harry. I will miss you, too. But if I find a way, I will return. I promise.”

 

And Harry smiled, knowing that Olimar would keep his promise. He promised his family that he would return and he did. He would keep his promise to his friend too.

 

And Harry watched as Olimar climbed into his ship and saw it taking off, taking his friend with it.

 

It was one of the saddest days in Harrys life.

 

 

Many years passed and with the revelation that he was a wizard, with Hogwarts, his new friends, Voldemort, Sirius, Remus, all the others... he nearly forgot all about his little friend.

 

He was seventeen and fighting for his life. There was chaos everywhere - Death Eaters, defenders of Hogwarts, creatures from the Forbidden Forest, they all were fighting and Harry knew that this would be the last battle. He could feel it.

 

The realization that he had to die hit him hard. Yet dying was harder. And coming back was the hardest. But he did it. He was fighting Voldemort while chaos was still raging outside the castle but inside the walls it was nearly calm as the majority of the people here were watching the two, petrified.

 

Well, some Death Eater tried to intervene with the fight, to stun him from behind, but most of them were taken care of by the others. One scarlet red light was whizzing towards Harry, but out of nowhere, a fruit (an orange?) came flying, effectively blocking the spell.

 

Nobody but Harry even noticed it. And he didn't have much time to think about it.

 

 

Only after all was said and done and Harry was on his way back to his dorm room (which he hadn't seen since... last year. Was it even his anymore?), he had time to think about it all. The search, the fight, the end of everything. He was exhausted and drained. But his thoughts came back to the small incident during his fight. The fruit that blocked the stunning spell...

 

And as he opened the door to his room, his glance fell on his bed and he saw a little, four centimetres high space captain standing there, a flock of multicoloured little plant-like creatures surrounding him, Harry couldn't do anything other than smile as he greeted his long-missed friend.

 

Voldemort really never did understand the little things in life. Harry did. Even if they were just four centimetres tall.


End file.
